Oklahoma judge assigned to former death row inmate Richard Glossip's retrial after multiple recusals
OKLAHOMA CITY —Richard Glossip's retrial for first-degree murder is set to proceed after a civil judge was assigned to his case following the recusal of six Oklahoma County judges.
Glossip, who has spent nearly three decades behind bars for a murder-for-hire plot in the 1997 death of Barry Van Treese, walked into the courtroom Monday after months of uncertainty over which judge would take his case. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is retrying Glossip for first-degree murder, without the death penalty on the table, but the case had been at a standstill.
"It’s important for Mr. Glossip, of course, because he’s been sitting in prison, almost executed nine times for a crime he’s never even had a fair trial for all this time," said Don Knight, Glossip's attorney.
Court records show a series of judge transfers, with each either recusing themselves or being asked to recuse by Glossip.
In July, Judge Coyle was the first on the case but transferred it in August. In September, Judge Stallings was on the case until Glossip’s team filed to recuse her, which was granted in October. In November, the case went before another judge, but Glossip's team asked for a random assignment of a judge, leading to another transfer.
In early December, a motion filed by the district judge over Oklahoma County stated, "All district judges assigned to the criminal docket of Oklahoma County have recused," and there’s "no further process or procedure for the selection and assignment of a trial judge in murder 1 cases."
Consequently, Judge Mai, who oversees the civil docket, was randomly assigned the case and has now set dates for it to move forward.
"We’re anxious to get the case moving forward, but there’s a lot of things that happen between now and the trial date," Knight said.
Two court dates were set: one to potentially set a bond for Glossip and another for a motion to enforce a dismissal agreement that Glossip's attorney says was made with the attorney general.
Source: koco.com, Alyse Jones, December 29, 2025
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde